Use of Insulin to control Diabetes

If your doctor has recently recommended using injected insulin to control your type 2 daibetes it can be intimidating! Imagining taking a injection or giving yourself a shot everyday is not a pleasant thought. However, you need to understand that insulin is your health giving substance that enables you to live a normal life and avoid serious duabetes related complications. Over a period of time, you will get used to taking the insulin shot and it will come as second nature to you.

Insulin is essential in delivering glucose to your cells from your blood. For people who do not have diabetes, the body operates efficiently, with the pancreas excreting exactly the precise amount of insulin needed to keep glucose levels within a normal range. But when you have type 2 diabetes, excess glucose builds up in your blood instead of going into your cells. Injected insulin restores the balance and allows your blood to do its energy-delivery job.

Insulin: Why Not a Pill?

Why can’t insulin be taken in pill that you swallow? Because strong stomach enzymes break it down before it can be moved into your cells. Injecting it delivers insulin directly into the blood where it goes to work immediately.

How to Use Insulin

You inject insulin underneath your skin, often several times a day. Depending on your particular situation you will use syringes, injection pens, or an insulin pump that provides a continuous flow of insulin through a very thin tube inserted beneath your skin. Your doctor will guide you about your insulin requirements and your lifestyle to establish what’s best for you.

There are several types of insulin available and they vary in how quickly and how long they work in the body. Your doctor will monitor how much your blood sugar fluctuates throughout the day to determine which types of insulin you need, how much, and how often.

You inject the insulin underneath your skin. To deliver the insulin, you might:

Fill a syringe and give yourself a shot.

Use an injection pen that delivers a pre-measured dose in a quick jab.

Wear an insulin pump that provides a continuous flow of insulin through a very thin tube inserted beneath your skin.